I hope there aren't as many mistakes in there as the last one
Enjoy.
UPDATE:
Right, little turn in fortune.
Part 2 under ====
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“Ah, there he is. So far he is doing well. I only hope the trust you put into this kid is justified, Sir. His track record is not exactly exemplary.”
“I am sure it is, Commander. He already has done pretty well in earning his credits on this side of the fence. If he keeps going like that we may envy him soon enough.”
“Somehow I don’t think I will, Admiral. I have not much insight in what you have lined up but it can’t be too great, considering you declined to use one of our men. Why actually him? There are better pilots out there, his friend, for example.”
“His friend is a better pilot at this point, but this kid has got great potential. His genes should guide him in the right direction. I am sure he ...” Admiral Danna suddenly fell silent and stared at the sector map. “What is that? Pirates in this sector? Am I wrong or are these fighters really gaining on the TP? How come they are so fast? Get the sector patrol ships out there to take care of them, Commander, quick!”
Commander Corand issued the necessary commands.
Soon a wing of Novas was on its way to intercept the pirates. However, they’d be too late. The Express rolled sluggishly, the rear turret firing at all targets in sight. Its high fire rate could not make up for the weakness of the laser. It successfully took out all the missiles that were aimed at the TP but had no remarkable effect on the shields of its pursuers.
It did not take long and the transport ship took hull damage. The admiral sat at the screen following the unequal fight and had to watch helplessly, as his protégé was about to be erased. His hands dug deeply into the Argnu leather of his armrests. This was all wrong. The job was supposed to be easy. Sure, the company of this obnoxious Boron scientist was anything but pleasant. Though, there was not supposed to be any danger in this job. Not without reason did they choose a fast Express. How did the pirates manage to reach such extremely high speeds? Speeds that could put some scout ships to shame.
All of a sudden a Split corvette appeared behind the pirate ships, guns blazing. Before they could take any defensive measures, all but one were destroyed. The last ship tried to run but soon a different marker appeared on the scanners; the pilot had ejected just before his ship exploded. As fast as the corvette had appeared it also vanished. Following the destruction of the last pirate ship it was suddenly gone.
The admiral rubbed his eyes as to check if he had only hallucinated or the events had really happened. “Commander, did you see that? That was a Split Dragon, correct? Where did it come from? And where did it go?” He took a deep breath. Explaining the loss of a leading Boron scientist in the Argon home sector to the queen would have been difficult. “Thank god the boy and his passengers are safe. Have the Novas escort the ship to Terracorp HQ. I don’t want any more surprises. And send a scout ship to pick up the ejected pirate.”
Commander Corand stood still in front of the screen, his mouth open in disbelief. Not only did the corvette appear from nowhere, also its firepower and precision were anything but comforting. Had the Split managed to harness the potential of this ship? But why would the Split be in Argon Prime protecting an Argon ship with Boron passengers. This was all wrong.
“Admiral, are you sure it wasn’t a ship of Terracorp? They are the only ones that I can think of who can pull such a stunt. We also know that they own ships of all races. I find it hard to believe that this Dragon was piloted by Split.”
Admiral Danna pondered the thought for a moment. He too did not believe the crew to be Split. A look at the ship ID, however, did not relate it to Terracorp. In fact, it did not have a registration. Was this going to be a war between pirates?
“I will get somebody on to it and see what we can find out. There is only one person that, to my knowledge, is in possession of cloaking technology of sorts. However, I am not aware this person owns a corvette. For now let’s just be happy that whoever it was has saved the day.”
*
“Impressive performance. Thanks for helping me out there. I guess it’ll take some time to learn fighting in this ship. It is kind of different to a fighter.”
“You are welcome, and yes, you will need to put some time into combat training before you consider taking this ship into battle. The first rule in capital ship battle is to make primary use of the most powerful turrets. Second rule is to counteract draining the laser energy. To do this you need to bring the next turret or turrets of your ship into firing position as soon as the first lot runs dry. I am sure your Split friends have a combat simulator that they would not mind making available to you.”
Not knowing any better, Val had intended to take the Dragon into the fight like she would have done with her Barracuda. It had been the first time that this happened, Arox, recognising Val’s strategy, had demanded to take control of the ship, very wise move, as it turned out. The firepower of this ship was enormous, however, due to the relatively weak front-mounted laser it was more or less impossible to win a fight by flying the Dragon like a fighter. It had to be considered a small capital ship and manoeuvred accordingly.
“I will take your advice and request some simulator time.” At first Val had been scared when Arox had made it very clear that she had to surrender control if she wanted to keep the ship in one piece. But seeing how masterful the AI had taken out the pirates in only a few sezuras, she wondered why she should not make use of this hidden talent more often. Either way, she had to learn to fight with this corvette; one never knows what might happen during combat. Total reliance on artificial intelligence could easily result in destruction if something went wrong. So up until she was familiar with this ship she was going to park it in Lucky Planets.
*
For the past three wozuras Val had travelled regularly to Family Rhy taking lessons at the simulator. Lok had offered to be her teacher and at this he was fabulous. After loosing initially against two M3 fighters, Val had now reached a stage where she could take on a small group of half a dozen heavy fighters and one corvette. The most dangerous enemies to the Dragon had to be Paranid fighters with their shockwave generators. However, it was unlikely that there were too many of these around because the collateral damage of such a weapon could easily negate its value. However, even a single heavy Perseus equipped with this weapon could pose a significant threat, as the Dragon had to at least partially face away from the enemy to utilise its full firepower. Lok had taught her a number of strategies against this ship, most of which involved hit and run, taking advantage of the significantly higher speed of the corvette and the immense destructive force of the two turrets at fly-by. Val was uncertain how a fight against ships equipped with Ion Disruptors would end but hoped that not too many pilots would be able to afford the weapon.
It had been an exhaustive day at the simulator and Val sat slumped in her pilot’s seat. She was tired and longed for nothing more than sleep. Both, she and Lok were happy with her progress, though Arox kept pointing out the obvious: it was a long road and she had only just started to walk it.
The Barracuda floated gracefully towards the North gate. Apart from the training units, Val had not been up to much lately. The two power plants and her trading ships had done a remarkable job increasing her funds. Eventually the Bliss place had also started to make a reasonable profit. The high price of Swamp plants did cut in quite deep but for now it had to do. Considering the financial situation, Val could start looking at erecting a couple of Ore mines in Ministry of Fortune again. There was still severe shortage in the region.
“Entering system Ministry of Fortune.” Val woke up at Arox’ announcement. Exhaustion had gotten the better of her, resulting in Val sleeping through the entire journey through Rhy’s Desire. The shipyard was located not too far off the North gate. Straightening up in her seat, Val accelerated away from the gate.
“Incoming message.”
“Huh? Put it on the screen.”
“Now look who is there.” A familiar face appeared on the main screen. A look at the scanner and the positioning of the ships implied that the guys had been waiting for her.
====
Per to the left, Reg to the right and Jasso right behind her; all geared up with Massdrivers and ready shred her to bits. Val could not help but feel uneasy. If they really planned on taking her out then she had to come up with something good and fast. First of all she’d have to get out of Jasso’s line of fire, preferably diving behind him in a fast roll. This was as far as she got before Reg spoke again.
“You would not know where our boss and his cargo have gone, would you? They mysteriously vanished.”
“To be totally honest, I have no idea where either of them are.”
“Well, while looking for him we found out something rather interesting. You want to know what?”
“I am sure you’d tell me even if I didn’t, so go ahead. What did you find out?”
“Remember that Barracuda pilot I mentioned at the station? It appears you are the one, and the bounty on your head has risen to impressive 2.5 million credits. You certainly appear to have pissed off somebody important.”
“Well, you know more than me there. I didn’t even know somebody was interested in seeing me dead, let alone pay such a huge sum for my demise.”
“Whatever you say sweetie. Have you got anything left to say? We’ll make it fast.”
Val did not respond. The Barracuda lurched forwards as she simultaneously hit boost and strafe drive. With a fast roll and steep dive she had left the firing arc of the three Mambas but not before Reg could ripple a salvo along the bottom of the heavy Boron fighter. The surprise wore off quickly. It became obvious that these three pilots were a well-trained team. Before Val could get a shot off on Jasso he had moved out of sight. In the meantime Per and Reg tried to get on her six. For several sezuras the heavy fighters fought for an advantageous position without firing a single shot. It appeared none of them had any missiles in their cargo hold. Using her strafe drive Val veered off to the left. Once she noticed Per following her manoeuvre she rolled the ship one and a quarter turn and then pulled hard at the stick for a hammerhead. Another half roll and tight turn brought her right behind him. The white beam of the Ion Disruptor lanced out and connected with the Mamba and from there jumped onto Reg’s ship, who had overshot. Soon the 25 MW shields of the two ships were drained. Per’s Mamba took hull damage and Val could see the left Massdriver fall off after a number of Beta HEPT bolts had hit it. He tried very hard to get out of her line of fire and managed to avoid further damage. However, the Ion beam kept its lock and continued to fry electrical components of his ship.
‘One down, two to go’, Val thought. Val had no time to rest or celebrate. Although Per’s ship was no serious threat anymore, a lucky shot was all he needed. Jasso had made use of her brief target fixation and managed to get into a firing position. The shield-piercing Massdriver projectiles ripped into the hull of the left wing of the Barracuda. Shocked Val strafed to the right, only to end up in Reg’s firing arc. She frantically started rolling the ship trying to dodge the incoming fire. Val quickly had to realise just how good these kids were. As if anticipating her next move Jasso tracked her trajectory and fired again. This time the small projectiles ripped across the right wing.
Reg, after fending off the shock of the shield-draining beam, had tried hard to get a target lock but not managed to get a shot off, or at least not one that would have hit. Seeing Per’s ship taking significant damage had filled him with rage. Now that Val was busy avoiding Jasso’s barrage he saw his chance. In her defensive position she had to be an easy target. Her flight path was erratic but due to the higher speed of the Mamba he should be able to get an advantage. And there it was, the moment she strafed to avoid Jasso’s projectiles he opened fire. Reg could see small junks of hull material fly off where his bullets hit her ship. Damaging any vital parts of a Boron fighter was difficult, he knew that much. But with a bit of luck he’d hit the cockpit and that’d be it.
The projectiles of the Massdriver did not cause a lot of damage. Val was glad that they had obviously not been upgraded to the new specification that Arox had acquired during one of the missions for the Argon government. Nonetheless, she could not afford to expose herself to this barrage much longer. Since her shields were literally obsolete in this fight a single stray shot could mark her end. And there was no doubt these guys were serious about killing her. She looked around. The gravidar indicated that Reg was trying to cut her way off. There was little doubt this was going to be a trap. As soon as she pulled up Jasso would open fire again. Pulling down or to one of the sides appeared futile, as Reg could easily close the gap. Where are the missiles when you need them?
Val veered off slightly as if starting a barrel roll. Instantly Reg opened fire, ripping small chunks of hull from the bottom of the Barracuda. A quarter roll to the right and a hard pull at the stick followed by a half roll to the left and another jerk at the stick got her out of the trap but right in Reg’s flight path. The shields of the two heavy fighters penetrated each other and caused both ships to vibrate slightly. Val could see Reg stare at her with wide-open eyes, smoke started to fill his cockpit. The electrical charges of the two shield generators appeared to have fried something in his ship. This was a situation she had to take advantage of. Another half roll and tight turn brought her in a firing position. A quick change to dual Beta HEPT guns and the hull of the heavy Split fighter started to disintegrate at a very fast rate.
‘What the …’ The hum of the energy fields of the two ships penetrating each other gave only short warning. Sizzling sounds followed by the smell of fried circuit boards filled the cockpit. Smoke came from one of the panels behind him. And then suddenly he looked straight at Val’s face. The Barracuda had missed his Mamba by only a few metres. How had she managed to escape the trap? It was a well-practiced manoeuvre and had never failed before. Her rolls had looked like standard defensive moves but suddenly she had turned straight at him. How? He had always wondered how the Xenon fighters managed to do such spot turns and here he saw an Argon pilot do exactly that; turn on a dime, as the Goners use to say. Suddenly the onboard computer started counting down the hull level of the Mamba, and it did it very fast. This time there was no white beam, just green plasma and no shot missed its target. ‘What to do?’
“Pilot transported to cargo hold.” Arox announced just before the destruction of the Split fighter.
“Thanks, two to go. Any bright ideas how to get Jasso? He almost appears to know my moves before I do them.” Val was relieved to have one less enemy but her most dangerous enemy was still all over her. Again he had efficiently used her brief moment of target fixation and opened fire.
“Ecliptic projector damaged.”
Val did not need any more reminders of his presence. She twisted the stick hard left and up and managed to avoid further hits from Jasso. But then it happened. Per had only trailed Jasso, keeping his six clear. Enraged he had to witness Reg’s demise and now there was his chance. Perhaps the Barracuda had taken some damage, he was not certain but the manoeuvre to clear Jasso’s bullets brought her right before his remaining gun. Quickly he opened up. He could see sparks from the impact of his projectiles and suddenly a tiny flag of escaping air appeared over Val’s cockpit.
“Attention cabin decompressing.”
Val could see the bullet hole in the main window. The Massdriver projectile had ripped parts off the back of her seat. Only a little further left and it’d hit her. But what difference did it make? Already she felt the air getting cold and difficult to breath. What could she do? Walk over to the closet at the back of the cockpit and grab her helmet while exposing her ship to Jasso’s fire? Remain in her seat until she either suffocated or froze to death?
“Arox, fly evasive manoeuvres, I need to get my helmet. Any chance we can repair the hole?”
“Acknowledged. Negative, leak can only be sealed manually and now is a bad point in time.”
Val moved to open the buckles of her seatbelt and screamed in pain. So far the adrenaline had made her impartial to the pain of the injury. Looking at her right shoulder Val noticed blood trickling out of her flight suit. This was not good. Even if she put her helmet on, the suit was not airtight. As fast as possible she moved to the closet and opened it. There it was, the spare suit she always had with her. It paid to be a girl sometimes. Getting out of the damaged one and into the new suit was easier said than done. The shoulder injury hampered the process significantly. Val moaned in pain. Finally she grabbed her helmet. Pain and lack of sufficient oxygen had not gone by unnoticed. She felt nauseous and everything appeared in a haze. Space seemed to swirl around her. Val tried to find hold at the closet door but collapsed and fell to the floor.
The reason is actually double 
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